Evener.



R. H. KEITH & P. H. BROOKS.

BVENER.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.22. 191sY ir critica.

ROBERT H. KEITH .AND FRE-ID H. BROOKS, OF ROWAN, IOWA.

EVENER.

To all whom 'it may Concern Be it known that we, Ronnn'r H. Knrrn and Fano H. lrlnoous, citizens ot the United States, and residents ot' Rowan, in the county of llVright and State ot lowa, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Eveners, of which the :following is a specification.

Our invention is an improvement in eveners, and has for its object to provide a device oit the character specified especially adapted for use with farming implements of the drag class, especially of the folding type, and so arranged that the evener may be folded with thc drag, in passing through gates or narrow passages.

ln the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of the improved evener, Fig. 2 is a top plan view, Fig. 3 is a partial 'front view showing one ot the sections folded, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 4.--4 of Fig. 2.

The present embodiment of the invention comprises a central section 1, and lateral sections 2, the said section being of wood or like suitable material of suitable cross section. The central section is provided at each end with oppositely arranged hinge leaves, each of the said leaves comprising a plate 3 adapted to be arranged longitudinally of the side edge of the section, and provided at its outer end with a lateral perforated lug et. The opposite hinge leaves at each end of the section are secured to the section by bolts 5, and a ring G is connected to the front hinge leat' at each end, by means of a staple 7. Each of the lateral sections 2 is provided at its inner end with a pair oit oppositely arranged hinge leaves, each leaf consisting of a plate 8 adapted to be arranged alongside the edge of the section, and having a lateral lug 9 at its inner end, the said lug being perforated, and registering with the lug 4: of the adjacent leaf section on the central section. The hinge leaves at the inner end of each of the lateral sections are secured together and to the section by means of bolts 10, and a ring 11 is connected with the hinge leaf at the front edge of each lateral section, by means of a staple 12. The hinge leaves of the lateral section are seated in recesses or countersinlzs 13 in the side edges of the said lateral sections, and the hinge leaves of the central section are seated directly on the side edges of the said section. This arrangement permits the lugs 9 of the hinge leaves of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application iled April 22, 1913.

Patented Mar. 10, 1911i.

Serial No. 762,774.

lateral sections to iit inside the lugs 4: of the hinge leaves ot the central section, and a pin or bolt 14- is passed through the registering openings ot the lugs At and Y). to hinge the lateral sections lo the central section. rllhe central section is provided on its upper tace at each end and at cach side edge with a recess l5, and each oli the lateral sections is j n'ovided at its inner end on its upper 'face and at each side edge with a similar recess '1.6, each recess oit the lateral sections registering with a recess at the adjacent end of the central section.

A. pair oit cross levers 17 and 17L respectively, is pi'voted to each lateral section, on the upper :tace thereof, by means of a bracket 1S, the said bracket having each of its ends oflset downwardly onto the upper face oi the adjacent section, and secured thereto by means oi bolts or screws 19. The levers 17 and 17 are crossed intermediate their ends, and a common bolt 20 connects the said levers to the bracket, a nut Q1 en gaging the holt below the bracket to hold the parts in place. Each lever 17 and 17a is provided at its outer end with a grip Q2, and the said grips are spaced apart and arranged parallel, topcrmit both to be grasped to swing the said levers on their pivotal connection. On the opposite side oE the pivot from the grips, each lever is given a quarter turn, and the inner extremity of each off the said levers is provided with an opening for receiving the adjacent bolt or pivot pin 141:. The levers 17 and 17LL engage the bolt just inside the adjacent lug 9, and a latch plate Q3 is connected with the bolt at each end, just inside the adjacent lever 17 or 17 as the case may be. Each latch plate has its lower end otl'set outwardly, as indicated at 21.1, and received in the adjacent registering recesses 15 and 1G ot the central and lateral sections, and the said o'iliset end oi each plate vis provided with a lateral outwardly extending pin 25. Each hinge leaf 3 and S at the adjacent side ot the central and lateral sections is provided with an opening' in the recesses. tor engagement by the adjacent pin 25, when the lateral sections are in alinement with the central section. The said openings, 2G Yor the lcat 8 and 27 for the leal S, are adapted to register when the sections of the evener are in alinement, for engagement by the pin 25 of the adjacent latch plate to locl the sections in alinement. A coil spring 28 cneircles the bolt 14 between the latch plates, and normally presses the said latch plates away from each other. The recesses 15 and 1G are of sufficient depth to permit the latch plates to move inwardly far enough to dis-Y engage the pins from the adjacent openings 26 and 27. Then the outer ends of the levers 17 and 17a are moved toward each other, the inner ends of the said levers are also moved toward each other, thus moving the latch plates 23 inwardly, against the resistance of the spring 28, to disengage the pins 25 from the registering openings, whereby to release the evener sections and to pe 1mit them to be folded upon each other. The lugs L and 9 are of suflicient length to permit either lateral section to fold over upon the central section in parallel relation. Each of the lateral sections is provided near its outer end and on its front edge with a ring 29, secured to the section by a staple 30.

In operation, when it is desired to fold the evener, the outer ends of the levers 17 and 17a are pressed together, thus moving the inner ends inwardly toward each other, compressing the spring 28, and moving the latch plates to disengage the pins 25 fro-m the registering openings of the hinge leaves. Either lateral section may be then folded over upon the central section, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. @ne of the said lateral sections will be adjacent to the central section, and the other lateral section may be folded over upon the first-named lateral section. ln moving through a narrow passage, either lateral section may be folded, or if the passage is too narrow to permit the passage of the central section and one lateral section in alinement, the other lateral section may be folded over upon the first-named section. The coil spring 28 holds the latch plates with the pins 25 in engagement with the openings of the hinge leaves, thus absolutely preventing any accidental folding of the evener.

It will be evident that the evener may be composed of any number of sections, three being shown, since this is the usual form o f the evener.

Sectional drags and harrows are usually constructed of three sections, and when moving through narrow passages the side sections are turned up into approximately vertical position. Nith'the improved evener, the lateral sections of the evener may be connected to the lateral sections of the harrow or drag, and when the drag or harrow is folded the lateral section may be folded therewith.

The sections of the evener are not intend-A ed to fold into parallelism. One ofthe lateral sections will fold into parallelism on the central section, and the other lateral section may be partially folded. lf it is desired to fold the three sections in parallelism, the

set of lugs 46 at one end of the central section must be of greater length than the set at the other end. l/Vith long eveners, the central section will be long enough to permit the lateral sections to fold end to end;

`We claim 1. A device of the character specified, comprising a central and lateral sections, a

pair of hinge leaves arranged at each end of the central section on opposite sides thereof, each leaf having a lateral upwardly extending perforated lug, a pairof hinge leaves secured to the inner end of each lateral section onopposite sides thereof, each leaf having a lateral upstanding perforated lug fitting inside and registering with the-lug of the adjacent hinge leaf of the central section, a pivot pin passing through the perforations, the meeting ends of the section being recessed at each side edge at the lugs, and the adjacent hinge leaves at each side of the sect-ions having registering openings when the sections are in alinelnent, a latch plate on each pivot pin at each side of the sections, each latch plate depending into the adjacent recess and having a lateral pinfor engaging the openings of the leaves to lock the sectionsin alinement, a spring encircling each pivot piu and normally pressing the latch plates outwardly, and means for simultaneously moving the said plates inwardly to release the pins, said means comprising crossed levers adjacent 'to each pin, said levers being pivoted at their intersection to the adjacent lateral section and having` their inner ends provided with openings for engaging the pivot pins between the latch plates and the adjacent lugs of the hinge leaves.

2. A device of the character specified, comprising central and lateral sections, a pair 0f hingeY leaves arranged at each end of the central section on opposite sides thereof, each leaf having a lateral upwardly extending perforated lug, a pair of hinge leaves secured to the inner end of each lateral section on opposite sides thereof, each leaf having a lateral upstanding perforated lug fitting inside and registering with the lug of the adjacent hinge leaf of the central section, a pivot pin passing through the perforations, the meeting ends of the sections being recessed at each side edge at the lugs, and the adjacent hinge leaves at each side of the sections having registering openings when the sections are in alinement, a latch plate on each pivot pin at each side of the sections, each latch plate depending into the adjacent recess and having a lateral pin for engaging the openings of the leaves to lock the sections in alinement, a spring encircling each pivot pin and normally pressing the latch plates outwardly, and means for simultaneously moving` the said plates inwardly to release the pins.

3. A device of the character specified, comprising a central and lateral sections, a pair of hinge leaves arranged at each end of the central section on opposite sides thereof, each leaf havinoa lateral upwardly extending perforated ug, a pair of hinge leaves secured to the inner end of each lateral section on opposite sides thereof, each leaf having a lateral upstanding perforated lug littng inside and registering with the lug of the adjacent hinge leaf of the central. section, a pivot pin passing through the perforations, the meeting ends of the sections being recessed at each side edge at the lugs, and the adjacent hinge leaves at each side of the sections having registering openings when the sections are in alnement, a latch plate in each recess and having a pin for engaging the openings of the leaves to lock the sections in alinement, means for holding each pair of latches in engaging position, and means for simultaneously releasing each pair of latches.

4. A device of the character specified, comprising a central and lateral section, a hinge connection between the inner end of each lateral section and the adjacent end of the central section, means for locking the sections in alinement, and means on each lateral section for releasing the device locking means.

ROBERT H. KEITH. FRED H. BROOKS. lVitnesses JOI-IN L. SINCLAIR, EDWARD WV. AZELTINE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

